Did you know that the people of Dharavi generate income worth $1 billion per year?” Nawneet Ranjan tells. He tells that a change in mindset is hard to bring in when Mumbaikars themselves are ignorant of the contributions made by this neighbourhood to the city’s industries. Nawneet Ranjan is the brain behind Dharavi Diary, a short documentary about the crushed hopes and dreams of Dharavi’s residents as they are evicted from their homes, due to the government’s redevelopment plans. We meet at a roadside makeshift workshop near Dharavi, where the only source of light is a half-filled bottle of water — it’s a solar bottle bulb — stuck in the tin ceiling. As we chat, two women, Fatima and Laxmi, sit near the entrance, making balls with mud and rubber that will be sold at Rs10 each.Ranjan calls Dharavi Diary a ‘Slum Innovation Project’. This is essentially what differentiates the documentary from countless other films made on the slum, he says. While most filmmakers tell the story and move on, Ranjan hopes to raise the funds needed to help build a recycling design school in Dharavi.Dharavi is home to nearly one million people, many of whom recycle waste that comes from all over the world. “The people here, though poor, don’t beg and work with dignity. They earn their living. The government does not recognise this work as it will have to start giving subsidies,” says Vidu Chandan, one of the producers of the film. “It’s not a slum, it’s Asia’s largest small scale industry,” she says.Ranjan’s journey in the film world started several years ago. He was the assistant director of Ahista Ahista and Maharathi. Currently, a film student at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, Ranjan says that idea to make Dharavi Diarystemmed out of his desire to do something for the people of Dharavi. “When I was working in Mumbai, every time I passed Dharavi, I always saw people working dedicatedly. Hope and smiles were the only things I saw,” he says.In 2011, when Ranjan was in India during his summer break, he visited Dharavi again and saw how the lives of thousands of residents living in small dwellings were being destroyed by the government, which was looking at redeveloping the area. Shot in just 10 days in the monsoon of 2011, Dharavi Diary takes a look at the situation through the eyes of four residents, two of whom include Fatima and Laxmi.The shooting faced several challenges, not the least of which was the monsoon rain. “A bigger challenge was to get people to open up and to make them feel like they’re not being used. They were not keen to talk as they feel that media attention is the reason for their homes being destroyed,” says Ranjan. Once he won their confidence, however, the people of Dharavi embraced the idea.Need to give backNow that the documentary has been shot, Ranjan’s work is not over. He is now planning to develop a feature documentary by the end of 2014 on the same subject as well as raise the funds for the recycling design school. This, he hopes, will help the community channelise its talent better. “It’s amazing how these people use their jugaad skills to get their work done. They have all the skills and these just need to be upscaled. We are trying to push that confidence, so that they can come out of the cycle of poverty,” he says.Ranjan has also been actively organising workshops that will help in empowering the community. Fatima shows me the colourful laptop bags, purses and wallets that they have made in the last two days. The workshop was helmed by two female designers from Finland who taught the women from the slums how to make recycled bags from old clothes, particularly jeans and pants. There was no selection criteria and anybody with knowledge of stitching or an enthusiasm to learn was welcome.Similarly, there have been interactive storytelling workshops for children and another one that showed the participants how to make a pushcart out of recyclable material. All the workshops are conducted by volunteers — specialists in their respective fields, while the participants are interested slum residents. Ranjan says that he will include videos shot during these workshops in the feature film he’s planning so they could also serve as a model for development projects elsewhere.Cinema for changeRanjan says that he would always want to be behind ‘Cinema for change’. “As a storyteller, it is good to get inspiration but it’s also important to give back to the community. I want to engage the audience and start a discourse,” he says. LikeDharavi Diary, he says that he would always want to tell compelling stories, that urge people to think. His next script, though fun and easygoing, tells the story of a dysfunctional family who are under a pressure to succumb to modernity.Ranjan calls Dharavi the “green lung” of Mumbai, as they recycle the waste from the city’s dump, contributing to its well-functioning. “With Dharavi Diary, I want to question the whole idea of development and start a dialogue with the public. If development isn’t made inclusive, there is no point to it,” he says.

The State Govt under the able leadership of Mr.Chavan, has been systematically working to remove the stranglehold arrangement by the builders lobby. The latest is the state government’s new industrial policy which could lead to a major change in the housing scenario and also to enhancement of employment and industry in the outskirts of Mumbai and Pune.According to the article published in the DNA, there could be an "unlocking of 5,765 acres of land in Pune and 8,797 acres of land in Thane-Navi Mumbai area, official data shows. Of this, 40% of land will be used for the construction of houses and shops.According to the state government officials, there were 124 special economic zones across the state. The new industrial policy allows the corporate firms to unlock their 40% of land which is over 35,000 acres in Mumbai. And, at remaining 60% of land the industry will be developed.“These lands, acquired under SEZs, were locked for the last several years. Land is a crucial factor for the development of any state. Because of land scarcity, many entrepreneurs were reluctant to start industries. Now, the SEZ land will be used for the construction of houses, and the remaining land for industries. The new industrial policy is good but it should be implemented properly. Activists claim that the government’s recent industrial policy has been framed so as to benefit corporate firms rather than the common man. “The government is saying corporate groups will be compelled to develop the industrial area first, and after that they will be allowed to sell the houses which were developed on their 40% area. But in reality, things are different. State industrial department data states even if one-third of the industrial area is developed, the corporates will be allowed to sell the houses,” an activist alleged, requesting anonymity.The activist further added that the houses will be constructed on not just 40% of the SEZ area, but will gradually take up 80% of the land. “It is a misguiding policy approved by the state authority just to benefit a few groups. People are fooled by the tag of ‘employment generation’,” he alleged.We believe that this is a decision if implemented rightly, will have far reaching implications in the long run, in reducing the demand for housing in the cities and for also reducing the influx of immigrants into the city.

The construction equipment market in India is expected to witness dynamic growth in the near future as a result of government investments in infrastructure along with the growing real estate sector, according to a research study fromresearchandmarkets.com.

The report, called “Construction Equipment Market in India 2012” provides detailed information about the various segments of the construction equipment market, including a snapshot of the rental equipment market. The equipment rental section highlights the drivers, challenges and trends prevailing the in the equipment rental sector. The study also covers the equipment financing market in India. Factors driving the growth of construction equipment in India are explained, including robust economic development coupled with growth in infrastructure stimulating the demand for more construction equipment. The growing presence of OEMs in India provides a major opportunity for market growth.

Among the many complaints made by the builders lobby, why prices of flats have to remain so high, is that the initial cost of purchase of land is so, so very high. Now this is quite true. Those with any land, have really grabbed their pound of flesh and made huge fortunes by selling it off at the highest price.To finally pay the price for the land, most often the builder has to take loans, at 15-18% to cough up the huge amount.Anyway, finally the land is in his hand... then comes the agonizing wait for government permissions ! One year, two years !!Till then the interest keeps building up, adding substantially to an already high cost !One way to get around the problem is to go in for reconstruction of old buildings.Mumbai has a huge number of buildings waiting to be pulled down and resurrected !redevelopment of existing housing projects provides a win-win situation for both the developer and the flat owner. In south Mumbai alone, at least 19,000 buildings have been declared dilapidated, which need to be re-developed immediately. At least 1,000 buildings get added to the list annually, and the number continues to grow. The existing norms of redevelopment introduced by the Maharashtra government are beneficial for both the owners and the developers. The freebies provided by the Maharashtra government have drawn a lot of established players to redevelopment, apart from several local players. At present, as per the coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) regulations, around 2-2.5 floor space index (FSI) is allowed.Many of the bigger players along with the smaller ones have jumped into this space. Hiranandani, Godrej Properties, Mantri Group etc However Redevelopment of projects also face several hurdles. For redeveloping a particular project, tenants, flat owners as well as the housing society have to agree before it goes for redevelopment. It is a big hurdle to get all the parties to come together and agree on a redevelopment plan. This itself could go on for years before everyone is finally bought on board.Redevelopment of housing societies is usually burdened with bitterness and complaints of high-handedness and corruption against the Managing Committee. Another big problem is that there is no law for implementing redevelopment of projects. In one of our earlier articles, we had mentioned that SBI was considering offering building societies the ability to take loans for “self-development”. This would be an ideal solution.The building society can invite experienced contractors to build the building and then by selling of the extra space created, provide either bigger spaces or newer amentities to the building residents.STAGES OF REDEVELOPMENT1. Offer letter to the society2. Terms and conditions with the society3. Agreement with the society4. Sanction from MCGM in favour of the society5. Loading of TDR in the society’s name6. Obtaining the IOD7. Shifting of the members8. Demolition of the building9. Obtaining the CC10. Construction of the new building11. Obtaining the OC12. Shifting the old members Offer letter to the society: The Housing Society is required to advertize in 2 leading news papers inviting the sealed tenders from the Developers and a Redevelopment Committee is formed to shortlist atleast 3 Developers on merits and the comparative data is placed before the SPGM for final selection. The selected Developer is informed accordingly and his terms are invited in writing as an Offer letter to the society Terms and conditions with the society: The first step towards the re-development is agreeing on the basic terms and conditions between the members and the Developer. The broad terms and conditions will include extra area, corpus money, shifting charges, alternate accommodation, time of re-development, amenities in the new building, etc.Finalizing the plans with members: After due consultation with all the members, the plan will be made to suit the requirements of the existing members and will be approved by them before applying for sanction from MCGM Agreement with the society: The execution of the development agreement will be done once the above two points have been cleared by both the parties and after the draft copy of the agreement have been approved by the solicitors of both the parties. It is possible to appoint a common solicitor so as to reduce the time in execution of the documentSanction from MCGM in favour of the society: After the execution of the development agreement, plans are put up for sanction from MCGM with regards to the entire layout as well as the concession plans in favour of TWO FSI (i.e. plot area + TDR purchased from open market). This step makes the society feel safe and confident towards the DevelopLoading of TDR in favour of the society: On receipt of the plans from MCGM approving the loading of TDR, the Developer will purchase the TDR from the open market in the name of the society and get the same deducted and loaded from MCGM. This step is taken with the intention of making the society feel secure about the entire development processObtaining the IOD: After the TDR is loaded, the IOD is obtained from the MCGM, the Developer then starts fulfilling all the conditions as mentioned in the IOD before obtaining the Commence CertificatShifting of the members: The members will feel lot more confident after the IOD is been obtained from the MCGM towards the entire development of TWO FSI. The members will now shift into their alternate accommodation as a pre-requisite before demolition of the building which is a must before obtaining the CC from MCGMDemolition of the building: Once the members have shifted into their alternate accommodation, the demolition of the building will take place either all the wings simultaneously or phase wise depending upon the scheme of re-development. Usually about three months are given to the members from the date of execution of the development agreement before asking them to shift to the alternate accommodationObtaining the CC: The IOD approval and demolition of the building will be followed by the issue of the CC (plinth level) by the MCGM which shall enable the Developer to start the construction work and after the plinth lines are verified by the MCGM officers, the further CC is granted for the complete buildingConstruction of the building: The building construction work will began in full earnest as per the approved plans by the MCGM taking into consideration the various safety factors to be considered during the construction work. The quality and the amenities will be provided as per agreed terms and conditions Obtaining the OC: The last step before the construction work is termed as complete is obtaining the Occupation Certificate enabling the Developer to allot the occupation to the old as well as the new memberShifting the old members: On receipt of the Occupancy Certificate the Developer can lawfully allow the possession of the flats to be taken over by their ownersDUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE DEVELOPER1. The Developer to demolish the building existing in the plot and construct new multi storied buildings taking into account the earthquake resistant factors as directed by The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. The new building should have stilt for car parking and should consist of _____ stories as per approved plans. The final plans are to be prepared after due consultation with the managing committee and understanding their requirements.2. The Developer shall be responsible to obtain all the necessary approvals from The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and all other statutory and Government offices and departments which will include:1.Development Planning Remark or Town Planning Remark: MCGM (Dev. Dept.)2. Survey of the entire plot with regards to the area and topography of the plot,existing plot boundary and existing structures (Developer’s Architect)3.Intimation of Disapproval (IOD): MCGM4.Property Tax Assessment NOC: MCGM (Assessment Department)5.Hydraulic Engineer No Objection Certificate: MCGM (Hydraulic Department)6.Storm Water Drainage No Objection Certificate: MCGM7.Sewerage No Objection Certificate: MCGM8.Traffic Deptt. of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai No Objection Certificate:MCGM9.Urban Land Ceiling NOC: Competent Authority in Collector's Office10. Tree No Objection Certificate: MCGM (Tree Authority)11.Non-Agricultural Permission: Collector's Office 12.Civil Aviation No Objection Certificate: Airport Authority of India13.Pest Control No Objection Certificate: MCGM (PCO)14.MTNL No Objection Certificate: MTNL15.Chief Fire Officer's No Objection Certificate: Fire Department Office 16.Commencement Certificate: MCGM17. Lift Inspection No Objection Certificate:Inspector of Lifts, PW18. Occupation Certificate (OC):MCGM19.Water Connection Certificate under section 270A:MCGM20.Drainage Completion Certificate:MCGM (Water Department)21.Building Completion Certificate (BCC):MCGM22.TDR Loading:MCGM23.Building Demolition Work:Contractor appointed for demolition work24.Soil Testing Report:The Concerned LaboratoryPlease ensure to collect all the listed certificates from the Developer/Developer as the same must be with the custody of the Housing Society once the redevelopment of the property is completed and the occupancy certificate is issued by MCGM to rehouse the members.3. The Developer should provide the following infrastructure after the completion of the re-development work:a. Complete paving around the building finished with suitable materialsb. Storm Water Drainc. Sewerage linesd. Security arrangements e. Garden and landscaping (wherever possible)f. Pipe gas line (as per availability)g. Internet facility (as per availability)h. Society officei. Adequate car parking spacesThe Developer has to provide extra areaover and above the existing carpet area to all the members free of cost in the newly constructed building. The flower bed as open balcony area should be provided as permitted by The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. (Area will be approx sq.fts.)4.The Developer should pay the society/individual member, a corpus fund of Rs……..towards granting of development rights. The above amount is helpful in paying all outgoings of the existing members in the newly constructed flats. The corpus amount is worked out on the basis of Rs……..per sq.fts on the existing carpet area.5.The Developer should provide displacement compensation towards temporary alternate accommodation to the affected members during the construction work at the rate of Rs…… per sq.ftson the existing carpet area. The compensation has to be paid from the time the vacant possession is given by the members for demolition till the construction of the new building/s is/are complete and the peaceful possession of the new flats given by the Developer.6.The society shall accept and admit the prospective/additional flat owners of the newly constructed building/s as members of the society and treat them at par with existing members.7.The Developer should prepare a tentative layout of the new building which has to be shown to the members as and when required.8.The Developer may tie up with leading financial institutions and banks and arrange for necessary approvals for housing loans for the existing members and prospective clients.9.The Developer should complete the entire re-development work within a period of ___ months or as agreed with the Society after all the legal formalities and Municipal approvals are obtained. The initial Municipal approvals will take about three months depending upon the existing rules and regulations governing the re-development work.The task of satisfactory completion of redevelopment of any Housing Society and to get back their members in their dream houses is not difficult provided the Office Bearers and the Committee Members are honest and justify their respective posts in the welfare and well being of the members of the Society.

With the visible slow down in new bookings and an extremely tight financial situation, Indian Builders have turned their attention to those with the moolah outside the country.50 of india's top builders are participating in an Indian Realty Investment Expo at Al Falaj in Oman.The Indian community there has shown a very positive response towards the event too.Some of the builders include -Bramha Corp is one of Pune’s most reputed namesNirmal Lifestyle, a leading real estate company from Mumbai highlighting its Turquoise & Discovery propertySobha Developers Ltd, a Rs 15 billion company, Century Real Estate is the largest owner of real estate in Bangalore IndiaBull is the main sponsor for the Investment Exhibition. Hiranandani Group is also putting up its projects.Getting bookings from NRI's abroad will certainly do nothing to improve the situation here for the local indians.Rates will still remain sky-rocket high and beyond the reach of even those doing well in their careers.Ofcourse, the builder will no longer think of lowering rates, if he can find people from a

The Builder lobby despite going through an extremely tough phase, has so far resisted the attempt to bring a check on their spiralling rates. But the Govt RBI policy of tightening rates, Banks refusing to lead, not many end-users ready with the moolah needed and investors now wary of the segment - the builders are facing a torrid period.Will they finally break and bring rates to a more sensible level...??Tthe Economic times of India (30 Aug 2011) carried the following article which is pretty indicative .. some excerpts.NEW DELHI/MUMBAI/KOLKATA: That dream home that you have waiting to buy may become a tad more affordable - new home prices could decline by between 10 to 15% by Diwali. Real estate companies that have accumulated huge inventories as sales dipped over the last two years, are under pressure from banks and investors to sell in order to generate revenues. Adding to the pressure is a growing mountain of debt, over Rs 38,000 crore for the top 11 builders."The property market cannot sustain the current price levels. Mumbai and Delhi are the most investor-driven markets. This is where the first crack can come from," says VK Sharma, chief executive officer of LIC Housing Finance, . A 10% price correction is likely in Mumbai and Delhi around the festival season, as that is the only way to revive sales, Sharma says.Niranjan Hiranandani, managing director of Hiranandani Constructions speaks the hard truth when he says that "Developers will hold onto their stocks, unless someone is over leveraged."But a consensus seems to emerging among many market participants that the crucial Mumbai and the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) markets will correct soon. "A price correction in Mumbai and Gurgaon is bound to happen... There will be fractional break of 15% in the Mumbai market," says V Hari Krishna, director at Kotak Realty Fund, a private equity arm of Kotak Bank."We are keeping our fingers crossed. But in all probability, we will have to resort to a price correction during the festive season when buyers go for new homes," says a leading builder in the NCR region, who didn't want to be named. He says his bank is refusing to lend any further and is instead asking him to service his debt by selling vacant apartments, even if that meant cutting prices. So far, builders have managed to avoid doing this, fearing any correction could lead to a crash.

Masss was pioneered by C Fernandes.He has more than 15years in offering Sales Support services to various leading Companies who offer their wares to the ConstructionIndustry. He specializes in Surveys~Data~Research